


Promise

by rndmcrpydnt



Category: Dr. STONE (Anime), Dr. STONE (Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Angst, Archive Warning is for Byakuya, Gen, No Beta We Die Like Byakuya, Wings, welcome to the fic filled with made up names
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:07:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25762609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rndmcrpydnt/pseuds/rndmcrpydnt
Summary: “I promise you’ll fly high again,” the little boy yawned as he rested his head on his shoulders and he chuckled at this.“You’ll be the strongest flier again,” he promised once more that night when Byakuya tucked him in under the covers when they got home after his day with Xeno. He knew better than to trust the promise of a child, but this was Senku promising him this.“Okay, I’ll wait.” Byakuya kissed his son’s temple, placing his trust in tiny hands and a brilliant mind.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 33





	Promise

The scent of burning wood greeted Byakuya as he opened his eyes to a bright morning. The cold crisp air filled his lungs and left a smoky whiff in his nostrils. He stretched out his wings that were quite sore from sleeping on a tree branch where he had taken shelter as navigating the skies in the darkness with growling thunder and cracking lightning, and pouring rain and tempestuous winds wasn’t really a good idea. After he had fully returned to consciousness, he turned his head toward the source of the scent of smoke and found several pillars of dark fumes rising to the heavens not too far away. Struck by curiosity, he spread his wings and took off.

Destruction is what welcomed him when he reached an area of what used to be a village of Earth children burned to the ground. Bodies that have turned to stone scattered across the ground and instead of blood, vines and stems branched out from wounds and planted themselves into the land. He also found the lifeless, rotting bodies of humans littering the area and the corpses of their horses laid still as well. 

_ ‘Ah,’  _ he thought solemnly.  _ ‘A raid.’ _

Byakuya turned his back and furled out his wings to leave the pitiful ruin when a cry of an infant erupted from one of the huts made of moss and bamboo. Tucking his wings back again, he made his way to the hut and found the body of a stone woman curled up in a fetal position with leaves and flowers covering her like a blanket. He crouched by her side and pushed away the plants that concealed the crying child. The young one swaddled in a woven textile with distinct patterns that signified he came from a higher, more civilized tribe of Stone people. Like the rest of his race, there were cracks on the baby’s face going down in jagged lines on their eyes and had hair with green tips that faded into white as it approached their scalp. He noticed the tight, tight grip the deceased mother had on her child and Byakuya was moved by her strength to protect it. He attempted to slowly ease the child out of her clutches but they wailed louder at the pain the movements caused.

“I’m sorry,” He whispered to the corpse as he gripped tightly at the first finger and pulled until it came off of her hand with a sickening crack. One by one, he snapped off her fingers until he was cradling the crying child in his arms. He gently rocked them back and forth in an attempt to calm them down. He tried to wipe away the soot and dust that covered their face but he knew he’d have to wash them in the nearby river if he really wanted to clean them up. He searched around the house and found a woven basket made of rattan as well as spare clothes, towels, and blankets. He held the child against his chest with one hand and the basket in the other and walked towards the river. He unwrapped the child and noticed the strands of glimmering gold intertwined into the textile he was covered in.

“Well, I have a little prince don’t I now?” He cooed and realized what he was doing.

_ ‘Am I seriously going to adopt an Earth child? Well, it’s not against the law and it’s not like he has anyone to go to but…’  _ He trailed off and looked down at the calm infant on his lap. He checked the temperature of the water with his fingertips and deemed it was warm enough so he dipped him in leaving his face above the river. Byakuya carefully rubbed off the dirt on his tiny body and almost dropped the child into the river in shock when he started giggling when he started cleaning his neck.

“Ah, a ticklish one, aren’t you? How adorable,” he chuckled and continued to wash him. When he was done, he dried him off and put on the shorts and vest. He couldn’t help but tickle him again and he grinned at the gleeful laughter that gushed from such a small being. He drew his finger back for a moment as he thought carefully of his next moves. All doubts were immediately thrown out the window when he felt the tiniest hand he has ever seen wrap around his finger.

“I suppose there’s no harm in taking you under my wing.” He decided and flew back to his home with his son.

Byakuya’s race of bird people, or Mabalahi, as they called themselves, usually lived in the high trees of the forests. Just as how the Earth children were composed of different types of people (the Batkal Stone villagers being one of them), the Sky Dwellers were almost the same. In the trees lived the Mabalahi, in the caves the Taonaki, and in high towers constructed centuries ago were the Krisak. All of them had the ability to fly which earned them the name of Sky Dwellers but their wings differed from each other and it provided them with different strengths. The Mabalahi had strong feathered wings, the Krisaks had fast delicate ones that looked like they were made of glass, and the Taonakis had flexible leathery wings. The one thing they all had in common was the fact that they hated each other and would usually never hesitate to kill another when given the chance. The Krisaks thought of the Mabalahi as barbarians and the Mabalahi thought the Krisaks were too full of themselves. The Taonakis, with their apathetic and snarky attitudes that have allowed them to take amusement instead during arguments in meetings between the three winged civilizations, could care less about their disputes and would only jump in on the violence for the fun of it. The Mabalahi had constructed small houses made of wood and bamboo in the canopies supported by the thick branches and concealed by lush abundant leaves of the forest they resided in.

The sun was still high in the sky when he landed on the platform where his home was constructed. He lifted the basket’s lid open and was relieved to find the infant sleeping peacefully surrounded by the various pieces of cloth taken from his home.

“There you are, old man!” He heard a young boy’s voice yell out. Looking up, he found the moody adolescent known as Shamil perched on a higher branch scowling down at him.

“Good morning, Shamil.” He smiled at the golden haired boy who rolled his eyes and scowled at his elder.

“Lady Lillian and the council members have been worrying about you. They thought you’ve been killed by the humans or by the Krisaks. Anyway, they told me to bring you to the Plume if you get back.” 

“You can go ahead, I’ll have some water before I go.” He watched the fledgling fly away before he hurried inside and placed the basket on his bed. 

“Stay here,” he seriously told the slumbering child with a pointed finger before he realized that he couldn’t really go anywhere. He lightly caressed the plump cheeks with his knuckles before departing.

“You’re alive!” Lillian gleefully exclaimed when he entered the room of the circular table.

“I wouldn’t die that easily, my lady.” He brought his wings forward to cover him partially and bowed in greeting. “The storm was too strong last night so I took shelter in a tree and waited for it to pass.

“Well then,” Yakov prompted. “Anything noteworthy to report?”

“The troops of the Seka kingdom are still continuing on westward and I stumbled across another raid by the Idics. A small village of Earth children, Batkal people specifically.”

“How horrible,” Darya remarked. “They must have refused to submit to the Idics.”

“Most likely, it’s only a matter of time until they come to the forests with intent to offer these so-called alliances with us mythical folk and burn the whole place to the ground when we refuse.” Byakuya added. He was about to speak once more when a familiar cry pierced through the air accompanied by the approaching rhythmic beating of wings. He turned and found Shamil holding the basket with disgust painted on his young face.

“You brought home a baby?” He asked with a scrunched up face, holding the basket as far away from him as possible.

“Why did you bring him here?” He rushed over to the teen and took the infant in his arms.

“I saw the basket you were carrying and I got curious and then it started crying before I could even lift the lid.

“An Earth child?” Lillian questioned at the sight of thin tufts of green hair. “Those cracks- is he a survivor of the raided Stone village you came across?”

“Yes,” he answered as he tried to stop the cries. “I wasn’t going to hide him from you, lady Lillian or from the council. I just wanted to address business and formal concerns before my personal troubles. I am aware that adopting one who is not of our kind is not prohibited, however-”

“You can raise him.” Lillian interrupted him before he could speak further. “I don’t suppose anyone else in the council is opposed to General Ishigami’s adoption of an Earth child?” When the question was answered with the shaking of several heads, Byakuya couldn’t help but smile.

“What’s his name?” He took a moment to stare at the red-eyed giggling mess biting at his finger with only his gums.

“Senku. Senku Ishigami.”

“Get him off me, old man.” Shamil complained as the Earth child crawled onto his body as he laid on the wooden platform after taking lessons from Byakuya.

“Don’t be so mean to him,” the older man chuckled. “He likes you, see?” He pointed to the boy who was spreading drool all over the teen’s feathers.

“Ew,” he jerked his wing with enough force to send little Senku away but not enough to hurt him. “He hates me and I don’t like him.”

“Oh, come on. Does this face look like it’s capable of hate?” He asked as he smooshed Senku’s face with both hands making his chubby cheeks out and the little one let out a squeal. “How could you not like such an adorable little child?”

“I probably looked like that as a kid too. Who knows how he’ll be when he grows up?” Shamil huffed and attempted to flick the baby drool away from his wings with small quick flaps before finally wiping it off with a rag Byakuya tossed his way.

“Hopefully anything but like how you are,” the general laughed and the other threw the rag with baby slobber at his face in retaliation.

“Well, I’m off to the Plume. Lady Lillian and the council need me.”

“They don’t, really.” He rolled his eyes at the sight of the adult pouting.

“I’m off.” He kissed the top of the infant’s head before leaving. It took Shamil a moment to realize he left the earth child with him. 

“Oh, come on,” Shamil grumbled and watched Senku crawl towards him again. “I’ve never seen someone from any of the Stone villages before. Red eyes look so weird,” he muttered to himself as he leaned forward to come to eye level with him. “The old man shouldn’t take long and I'll get in trouble if something happens to you. I guess I have no choice but to watch over you, you pain in the ass.”

He patiently waited while keeping an eye on the kid and practiced his control over his wings by keeping him trapped within their span. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Connie with two younger kids on another branch quite far from where they were.

_ ‘Oh? Is she teaching the fledglings how to fly?’  _ He glanced at the baby who seemed to have his attention glued to the toy Byakuya left him with and continued to watch the trio. He could still remember the day he jumped off the cliff to take his first flight. Connie seemed to have noticed him watching them and she sent him a smile and a small wave to acknowledge his existence. He watched the first one jump off and Shamil felt a smile creep up to his face when they came right back up by flapping their wings. The second one seemed to have drawn in some confidence at the sight of success but was still visibly nervous. Still, they came back right up and he felt his heart soar and swell with pride at seeing them take their first flight.

He glanced back at Senku and his heart dropped faster than he did when he was seven.

“Senku!” he yelped in panic seeing the child crawl off the edge on the other side of the wooden platform. He jumped off and reached out to the falling baby to catch him before he hit the ground. His heart pounded against his chest and he tucked his wings as close to his body as possible to help accelerate his fall. He could feel his eyes water ever so slightly from relief when he tightly held Senku closed to his chest.

“You’re an idiot,” he whispered, glaring at him. “You’re such a fucking idiot.”

Senku seemed to have taken offense from that and started crying loudly.

“Oh, shut up,” Shamil muttered and held him closer to his chest and flew up above the trees. He turned Senku slightly to his side so he could see the view below them and continued to bounce him in his arms to get him to stop crying. When he stopped crying, the young Mabalahi flew him around the forest area. He spun in the air and dived from a higher point to fly right back up several times which elicited squeals and giggles from Senku.

He found a smiling Byakuya when they returned home.

“Do you still think he hates you and do you still don’t like him?” he asked when he took Senku back into his arms. Staring at his sleeping face, he could admit that they’ve created some sort of bond in the hour they spent together.

“I suppose I like him more than I like you,” he replied and laughed at his mentor’s incessant sputtering.

“Xeno, I need you to look after my boy!” Byakuya yelled as he barged into the man’s lab.

“Do I look like a babysitter to you?” said man sneered with a raised brow

“I used to leave him with Shamil but he’s starting his official training today so I don’t know who to leave him with and I don’t want to leave him on his own yet,” the father begged. “He’s already seven and he’s very, very smart so he’ll listen to your instructions and he follows them usually,” he added. Mumbling the last word so softly Xeno didn’t hear him.

“Look around my lab,” he implored, turning his back against Byakuya and stretching his arms out to emphasize the intricacy of his laboratory. “Do you think this is a place for a brat? This is a trove of knowledge! It is home to various keys that open doors to new discoveries that could change the world! What makes you think that a child-”

Turning back around, Xeno found Senku and no Byakuya.

“Dad left.”

Xeno slapped his hand against his face and pinched the bridge of his nose to calm himself down. He slid his arms under the toddler’s armpits and picked him up to eye level.

“Do not touch anything,” he sternly warned. Seconds later he was placed back to the ground and not even a moment later Xeno found him with a jar in his tiny hands.

“What did I just say?” the elder hissed and swiped the jar from his tiny grasp.

“To not touch anything,” Senku answered.

“And what did you just do?”

“I  _ held  _ something.”

“Don’t act smart with me, young man. Go sit at the table over there and read a book or something if you can understand them.” Senku simply frowned at the snappy elder but decided against arguing and followed the orders given to him instead. He knew how to read and write and he learned both earlier than anyone expected. However, looking at most of the unfurled scrolls and opened journals, Senku knew he wouldn’t be able to understand it.

“Isn’t this the writing system of the Krisaks?” he asked, staring at the dashes that made no sense to him, trying to remember what it was called. “Bayama?”

“Keep quiet.” Was the only thing Dr. Xeno answered to him. Senku took this moment to actually look at the man and observe him. The most noteworthy feature that one’s gaze would gravitate to upon looking at Xeno were his wings. Senku had learned of the differences of the structure of wings of the three races of Sky dwellers. In the light, the child could see the wispy, almost invisible tufts of white that resembled the down feathers that most of the people he knew would shed often. Xeno’s wings did not seem to be structured like the Mabalahi people he was surrounded by as theirs formed a semi-circle when stretched. Xeno’s wings were more like two thin triangles with rounded corners covered in fine clusters of white and black down feathers that formed a pattern. 

“Are you of mixed blood?” he boldly asked outright which caused the older man to still.

“Did Byakuya tell you?” When the young one shook his head, Xeno asked another question. “Then how did you know?”

“Your wings are different. I haven’t seen a Krisak or Taonaki in person but I have a vague idea of what their wings look like from stories and comparisons since they say the Krisaks have wings like butterflies and other insects while the Taonakis have wings close to bats. Yours look like they resemble an insect in structure and they’re kinda furry like a Puss moth’s but I think that they’re actually downs instead of fur which led me to assume that your wings are a combination of Mabalahi and Krisak wings,” he explained. “Am I wrong?”

Xeno could not stop the amused smile from forming at Senku’s deductions and hypothesis. “You’re a very smart boy,aren’t you?”

“I’m sorry for the trouble, Xeno,” Byakuya said when he came back to pick Senku up. After all, the only way to get from one place to another in the canopies was to fly and it would take the Earth child hours to get down a tree, get to the one where he lived in on foot, and climb up.

“You can bring him here again tomorrow. I will be taking him in as my student.” Xeno gave no regard to the jaw drop the father responded with to what he said. “Now get out of here so I can finally continue my research.”

“Dr. Xeno,” Senku, a year older than when he first met Dr. Xeno, prompted his teacher. Earning a hum in response from the busy man, he continued.. “My dad is just an intelligence officer, right?”

“You learned how to read and write in Bayama on your own and even went as far as to learn how to be eloquent in Krisalogo with little to no guidance from me or anyone else fluent in the language and yet you don’t know your own father’s job?” his mentor teased.

“I know that he is an intelligence officer,” Senku huffed. “He collects information on the outside world in secrecy to see any developments in the brewing war among the humans.”

“And to use that information to determine if they’ll get us caught up in their mortal shenanigans.” the man bitterly added.

“You act like the Sky Dwellers are on good terms with each other.”

“At least we keep the bloodshed in the meeting rooms and don’t force husbands, sons, brothers, and friends to their death,” Xeno shook his head. “They live such short lives and yet they find ways to make them shorter in the pursuit of things that won’t matter when they die.”

“Dr. Xeno, who is my father, really?” Senku finally said. “I refuse to believe he’s just an intelligence officer.”

“He is just an intelligence officer, Senku. You should be asking who he  _ used  _ to be instead of who he really is now to get the answers you look for.”

“Then he used to be a general,” the boy concluded based on Xeno’s response and on details from stories he heard from Ukyo and Shamil who were both Byakuya’s students. “And he currently isn’t one anymore. Why did he get demoted?”

“He didn’t, Byakuya stepped down himself despite the protests of almost everyone with the authority to protest.”

“Is it because he adopted me?”

“Don’t feel so special now,” Xeno chuckled in an attempt to lighten the mood despite the fact his student remained cool. “He stepped down long before he even found you. He injured his wing in a battle against an earlier human kingdom that attempted to wipe out the Mabalahi tribe and even when the wound healed, it was weaker and it couldn’t support him in fights as well. Your father has been a complete airhead for as long as I’ve known him but there was a reason he was a feared general despite his airy attitude. When he came to terms with his weakness, he stepped down from his position insisting that should there be another battle, he’d be an embarrassment to the Mabalahi forces. They had him keep the title of General, though, as gratitude for his service.”

Senku took some time to digest the information. Sure, he did notice the way his father’s flying patterns would sometimes stutter when he had to quickly change directions, or the way his left wing specifically would miss a beat and flap erratically for a moment or two and he did hypothesize it was due to an injury his father got from spying around but it was different. Now, Senku understood the bitter curl of Byakuya’s lips when he had to exert more effort to fly and the aggravated bared teeth when he would be flying all around the place when he was exhausted. He now understood the subtle gestures of pent-up anger and frustration his dad would do when he thought his son couldn’t see him. 

“I promise you’ll fly high again,” the little boy yawned as he rested his head on his shoulders and he chuckled at this.

“You’ll be the strongest flier again,” he promised once more that night when Byakuya tucked him in under the covers when they got home after his day with Xeno. He knew better than to trust the promise of a child, but this was Senku promising him this.

“Okay, I’ll wait.” Byakuya kissed his son’s temple, placing his trust in tiny hands and a brilliant mind.

Senku already knew he was different by the time Dr. Xeno started teaching him about the world around them. Mabalahi children would usually wear clothes with holes on their back by the ages of five or six because baggy clothes wouldn’t be able to fit their wings anymore. Nobody around him had the cracks he had on his face. Nobody around him had red eyes like him. Nobody around him had green hair that faded into white as it neared his scalp.

He didn’t have wings like anybody else.

Xeno was different too, but he could still fly like everybody else.

“You are my son,” Byakuya assured him when he confronted his father about it, but the man was honest with Senku and told him only the details six-year-old him should know. Senku was fine with that, he didn’t need to look for people he’d never met and never meet just because he had their blood in him. He had his father, Shamil, Ukyo, and Connie, and Lady Lillian and Lady Ruri and Lady Kohaku too, and auntie Darya and uncle Yakov too and even if the man was aloof he admired Dr. Xeno just as the man was fond of him.

When he was eight, Dr. Xeno took him to the forest ground for the first time in his life. Aside from the canopies, the only place he’s ever been in the forest was the waterfalls where they bathed and where their drinking water was taken.

“Hello, Chrome.” Xeno greeted out of nowhere. Senku was startled when the big silvery chunk of mineral partially covered by other smaller stones started shifting until a boy who looked not much younger than him appeared.

“Hello,” he beamed. “Who’s that?”

“This is Senku, he’s a student of mine. Senku, this is Chrome, an Earth child much like you.”

“A Batkal Stone villager?”

“No,” the elder shook his head. “He’s a Kihoroid, the Earth children that can shapeshift into minerals but I’m sure that he could teach you a thing or two about one of your abilities. Assuming you have more than one but I’m more than sure you have a couple more than the average Earth child seeing as you’re of royal Batkal blood like Chrome.”

“You’re a prince like me?” 

“No,” Senku said. He may have the blood but he’s sure that there is no way he was still a prince when the people he came from were massacred.

“Show him around, Chrome,” Dr. Xeno said. “Introduce him to more Earth children.”

Taiju and Yuzuriha were Baunos, Earth children who could meld into trees and other plants with wood and were identified by their dark brown eyes and dark brown hair. Gen and Suika were Naktalas who were closely related to the Baunos but they had the ability to either have flowering plants grow out of them or aid them to grow faster on the land. Tsukasa was a Halon Land Treader with a tail that grew from the middle of his lower back and had ears on top of his head instead of the sides. Aside from the Mabalahi and Xeno who had Krisak blood in his veins, Tsukasa was the first Milop of the Land Prowlers he had met and he was greatly interested (and slightly horrified) to learn that the boy could dislocate and relocate the joints in his body to be able to walk on all four limbs much like his fully animal brethren. A few months into his friendship with those who lived in the forest grounds, he introduced them to Kohaku and Ruri.

They took the Sky Dwellers to the beach that was far from their side of the forest and there they met Prince Ryuusui of the Dailang Water Settlers.

Senku spent the time down on land learning. He was taught of different materials and resources used by the different people in the different races of Milops. With Kohaku’s assistance, he was able to understand how they flew and with dead birds Tsukasa would help him find in the forest, he had a deeper grasp on Mabalahi wing anatomy. Senku’s heart sank when he realized that his father’s condition wasn’t caused due to irreversible internal damage. It was much simpler because his father had actually lost his phalanges and almost half of his metacarpal and had been using a stick tied onto his wing with feathers stuck together as a substitute. Senku knew that Byakuya’s current aid did help a little but he had to find a way to make it stable and efficient.

Byakuya couldn’t tear his eyes off the gear Senku held in his hands.

“You made this?” he questioned once more.

“Yes, dad, I had help from Yuzuriha and uncle Kaseki now hurry up and let me put it on you.” Senku impatiently demanded. The father stretched out his left wing and untied the one he made himself to make way for his son’s innovation. The feathers he used in his substitute were from the molting of those he had similar feathers to which was why they were usually worn out but still enough to help him fly but the ones in Senku’s looked new and sturdy.

“These are artificial feathers that Yuzuriha wove together from fibers made from Dailang scales. Ryusui told us they had a way to turn scales they’ve shed into strands and Francois made them for us.” The fit of the sleeve was snug around the half metacarpal stump where feathers no longer grew on and the strap that ran along the length of his left span from behind secured the feathers. Byakuya was aware that being the crown prince of the Dailang, Ryusui was sure to have gold or red scales and he doubted they’d lose their shine and color just because they got turned into strands but they somehow managed to put on pigment on the plumage to make it blend with his real feathers. The straps wrapped around his torso and he felt thin stretchy strands get tied on his other wing.

“These will make sure that whatever the right wing does, the left does too. If you need to do something that requires the independence of one wing, you have this one that wraps around your foot. If you point your foot straight down it releases the control of the right over the left for as long as you keep your foot stretched.” Senku explained. “Alright, time to test it.”

Of course only his son would push him over the edge with no warning and an excited grin on his face.

And of course, only his son could be able to keep his promise to make him fly like he used to.

Dr. Xeno wasn’t as mysterious as he once was to Senku. He was able to figure out that the man was half Krisak on their first meeting and he simply assumed that the man was raised in the canopies where the Mabalahi tribe resided.

Then, he learned that he was an exile.

Xeno’s mother was a Mabalahi, his father was a Krisak. His mentor didn’t delve into how they met and fell in love but he told Senku that his mother died giving birth to him and his father, a Krisak noble, raised him the kingdom. Despite his father’s high societal status, he was still shunned by the people around him for being a foul half-breed. They scorned him for the  _ filthy  _ Mabalahi blood that ran through his veins. They insulted his dead mother behind his father’s back and no matter how intelligent he was, his studies were ignored because of ‘impurity’. 

When his father passed, they accused him of patricide through poisoning and was banished from the kingdom.

He had one friend, his name was Stanley. Stanley Snyder was a son of a military leader and was an excellent soldier even at a young age. 

That same Stanley Snyder, Xeno’s only friend since childhood, stood before fourteen-year-old Senku with a lazy smirk on his face.

“I didn’t know you were coming.” Dr. Xeno commented upon seeing his old friend at his lab’s entrance. Stanley was covered head to toe in armor that even his wings had their own armor, albeit those covers were natural.

“I rarely get chances to leave the kingdom, much less to visit a friend in enemy territory.” the Krisak took notice of the young boy sneakily trying to take a peek at the wings of the first pure-blooded Krisak he met .

“This is Senku, a student of mine.”

“First time seeing a delicate wing, kid?” he playfully asked the teen. If Senku remembered correctly, ‘delicate wing’ was often used as a taunt against Krisaks by the other two races of Sky Dwellers since they had the structurally weakest wings out of the three. “I could give you a demonstration if you want.” Senku was far from shy and was always enthusiastic at the thought of learning something new so he nodded at beetle Krisak’s offer.

Stanley’s elytras were black but they shifted to a gradient of metallic greens and gold in the light. When raised, they exposed the thin yellow transparent underwings with veinlike patterns in a darker pigment webbing out across. When he levitated, Stanley’s wings continuously flapped in rapid movements unlike how the Mabalahi flew as they’d flap their wings and then glide across the sky. Stanley was very quick at flying around too and Senku found it quite difficult to follow him with his eyes.

“Senku, Lady Kohaku has requested your presence.” A cheery Ukyo chimed from the lab’s entrance. Senku noted how the cheery smile faltered for a moment when the feathered man’s gaze met Stanley’s. 

“Perfect timing, I had something private to discuss with Xeno anyway.” 

“And that would be?” Ukyo asked with a raised brow.

“Friend stuff.” Stanley waved his hand dismissively.

Senku knew that there would be guests as the three Sky Dwellers would be having their annual meeting but he was still surprised to see a Krisak and Taonaki with his friend.

“This is Datu Mozu, son of Datu Ibara, and this prince Hyoga, crown prince of the Krisak kingdom.” With Kohaku being a royal herself, it was no surprise that she was tasked with entertaining their guests and Senku guessed Ruri was busy with the other guests as well. Hyoga’s wings resembled those of a dragonfly’s and were much clearer than Stanley’s. They were tucked downwards behind him close enough to almost reach the ground like a cape of diamonds. Mozu’s dark brown wings crossed over his chest like a cloak and since he was standing behind Kohaku, her own yellow feathery wings popped against the dark background.

“Your majesties, this is Senku, a friend of mine.” Senku gave a little bow as a sign of respect to the two princes.

“Ah, the Batkal prince who was adopted by a former Mabalahi general. I’ve heard of you.” Mozu remarked which was followed by a yelp of pain.

“That’s rude, Mozu,” Hyoga hissed. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, prince Senku.”

“Just Senku is fine, your highness. I am not a prince.” 

“I see, Senku then. Please feel free to call me just Hyoga as well.”

Apparently Mozu was driving Kohaku mad with his constant flirting but she knew better than to offend the son of the leader of the Taonakis when the brewing human war was already making tensions high between the Sky Dwellers as well. Senku couldn’t be as much help as she had initially hoped as prince Hyoga had taken a liking to the Earth child after learning he was Xeno’s student and that he was fluent in Krisalogo and knew how to read and write Bayama and they conversed in the language Kohaku never bothered to learn. Still, her friend’s company was enough to calm her down enough to be able to return Mozu’s flirtatious comments with passive aggressive snarky retorts.

When the day neared its end and their foreign guests had to depart, Hyoga pulled Senku away from the crowd.

“You should come to the kingdom with us. You’re intelligent enough to be worthy of respect and with me by your side, my people will adore you. Come join me, Senku.”

The Batkal only laughed the Krisak prince’s offer off and politely declined.

“If you ever change your mind, just smash this ball and we’ll talk.” He was handed a crystal ball the size of an apple and he simply nodded in return not wanting to say more.

In hindsight, Senku should’ve seen Dr. Xeno’s betrayal coming.

It was nighttime when he visited Xeno’s lab, a couple of months after the meeting between the three Sky Dweller leaders. As a Batkal with royal blood in his veins, he learned how to manipulate the tree branches to bend and he used them to get around the canopy instead of having someone fly him around all the time. He didn’t have a particular reason to visit, he just had a gut feeling that he had to. 

Dr. Xeno’s lab was in disarray and he found the man with Stanley in the middle of it all.

“Senku,” his mentor grimly greeted.

“What’s going on? Why is Stanley here? You know that outsiders are not allowed in the canopy without Lady Lillian’s permission.”

“Join me, Senku. The Krisaks have formed an alliance with the Seka kingdom and are planning to take over the Mabalahi canopy and Taonaki caves by sundown tomorrow. You can be spared from the colonization. The crown prince was said to have taken a liking to you, you could be his advisor if he wishes. You can be Krisak nobility.” Senku stepped backwards and shook his head in disbelief with a chuckle.

“You’re going to betray the people who took you in for the people that casted you out and shamed you for a part of you that you couldn’t control? You're sacrificing the people who accepted you to earn the admiration of the people who didn't give you the respect you deserved?” the teen barked out in laughter. “I didn’t know you could be this stupid.”

“I knew you’d never agree. Byakuya had far more influence over you and your beliefs despite the fact that you’ve spent more time with me for all your life.”

“Xeno, you know what I have to do. We can’t let him go especially after all you’ve told him.” Senku only saw a glimpse of the barrel of a gun, a human invention, before a deafening bang rang through the air.

Xeno watched his student topple over the edge of the wooden platform that supported the laboratory he called home for the past decades.

Senku has never been as thankful for his royal Batkal heritage as now. He was told that the members of the Batkal monarchy were the ones with powerful abilities in them. Like Chrome, he had the ability to transform himself into stone. Before the bullets hit him, he had already turned his whole body into stone and he was sure that although there would be cracks on his torso like the ones down his eyes because of the shots, he’d stay alive. He manipulated the branches below him to form a net to catch him before he could hit the ground. He heard the buzzing of Krisak wings and looking up, his guts twisted when he saw the blazing inferno beginning to make its way out of Xeno’s lab.

_ They were trying to burn the canopy down. _

Senku scrambled to raise himself back up to warn the sleeping residents of the fire. Ignoring the ache from where new cracks formed, he began yelling at the top of his lungs.

“Fire!” he screamed, hoping for the nearest people to wake up. “There’s a fire! Fire!” Once the first few people woke up, they began to move. Some of the adults grabbed vases and buckets and flew towards the waterfalls while the others used their wings to fan the flames away, careful to not make the flames bigger than it should be. The younger ones flew around the canopy, waking the others up to spur them into action.

“Senku!” he heard his father yell out and not a moment later, he was wrapped up in a tight hug. “Are you alright? What happened?”

“Xeno betrayed us.”

By sunrise, Byakuya was already in a meeting with Lady Lillian and the Council. He relayed everything that Senku told him and there was only one choice for the Mabalahi.

“You can’t go!” Senku protested to his father. “You’re just an intelligence officer, you have no reason to go to battle.”

“I can’t stand by, Senku. I won’t let you lose another home. Ukyo and Shamil are on their way to the Taonaki caves to form an alliance. We’ll be fine.” Byakuya didn’t let his son talk more.

“I’m off.” He kissed the top of his son’s head before leaving.

Senku harshly threw the crystal ball to the ground and a plume of dark blue smoke emerged from the broken pieces. It rose and seconds later, the Hyoga’s smoky form towered over him.

“Alliance with the humans? Are you lot insane? You allowed the Sky Dwellers to get dragged into the mess the humans started,” he growled.

“You’re acting as if I was the one who shook hands with the human king. I’m just a prince, Senku. All I have to do now is sit pretty, nod at my father’s plans, and follow orders.”

“But you’re not against it.”

“We’re the only ones who hold knowledge and productivity in such high regard. It would be in everyone’s best interests for us to weed out the useless Sky Dwellers and leave only those who have a purpose in life that will help improve our society.”

“If something happens to my father,” Senku calmly warned. “I’ll kill you myself.”

“I’d love to see you try.” He gave a devilish grin before the smoke collapsed and dispersed.

Senku descended to the forest ground to distract himself. His friends noticed the tension but they made no comment and interacted with him as usual. When the sun was about to set, the plants whispered to him of the arrival of the soldiers. He left in a rush, let the branches raise him up the canopy as fast as they could.

He sought out Shamil.

The grave shake of his head told Senku all he needed to know.

He didn’t lose his home.

He lost the foundation.


End file.
